The Raw Heart
by Enchanted Disaster
Summary: Kagome's mother is an alcoholic, and she's sick of living in the same house as her. She returns to the feudal era, but will she remain there? Will she continue to run from her problems, or will Inuyasha help her make the right decision?
1. A Drunken Lullaby

**Here's a new story! Wahoo! I like it a lot, it's got some things that have happened in my life, cept some of them are a little "dramatized", or played up to make them more interesting. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or any of the characters and I never will. I also don't own the songs "Splinter" by The Exies or "Duck and Run" by 3 doors down. **

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The Raw heart

A Drunken Lullaby

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Kagome clasped her hands together and bowed her head a bit as she pretended to pray. Nobody was in the church at the moment, just herself, her mother, and the pastor. She hated going to church, it made her angry and made her hate her mother even more.

It wasn't as if Kagome hated god. She just hated the thought that her mother was trying to make up for all the sins she had done her entire life at one time.

At this she looked up towards her mother's figure where she was talking to the pastor. A look of disgust came across the young girls face as she thought to herself 'Go ahead and pray, and visit church as much as you want mom. It's not going to save you now, it's too late.'

But even if it was too late, Kagome's mother, continued to attend church. A couple months ago her mother had finally had a break down and had been sent to a rehabilitation center for 30 days. When she returned she was suddenly all "god-loving, god-is-everything, goody-two-shoes" type of person.

And it made Kagome sick to her stomach. How could the few months her mother probably had left to pray, make up for the many years of alcoholism, beating her daughter, smoking, and suicide attempts? Nothing made since and made Kagome overly irritable with her mom, even if she was trying to stop.

That morning Kagome had discovered her mother to have been drinking, an empty bottle of gin and her visa card lying out at the top of the stairs. Lot of good that "rehab" did. Her mother still drank as much as she had before, and still tried to hide it from her.

Very suddenly she was pulled out of her "praying" by her mother's clawed hand. They weren't exactly claws, not like Inuyasha's, but her mother had the most god-awful long nails she had ever encountered. They dug into the skin of her arm as she was pulled along.

The pastor wouldn't be able to see this, as he was distracted by her mothers "cheery" smile and wave. Everybody fell for that smile and wave; everybody just fell for that fake stuff. She supposed it was because nobody wanted to know the truth.

Kagome didn't turn to look at the pastor, but kept her eyes straight ahead as she was yanked and pulled along. After being dragged into the truck her mother slammed on the gas while reversing, promptly ramming some other person's poor car. Kagome cringed and waited until her mother sped out of the parking lot and swerved along the road to glare at her.

"Aren't you supposed to go tell somebody what you did when you do something like that, mom?" Speaking wasn't a good idea, and it wasn't until then that she realized it. Those awful long-nailed hands dug into her skull, yanked her hair until her head popped back, and then further let her face slam onto the passenger's side clove department.

Clogging a bloody nose with two pinched fingers, she listened to her mother's ranting "What do you think your saying! Are you saying I'm a bad driver! Well, are you! Why don't you try driving, smart alec?" Kagome quickly shook her head and flinched against as her face was again slammed into the closed glove department.

"MOM! Stop the car! Stop the car!" They were pulling up to a walker and dog crossing an intersection too fast, and almost too late her mother screeched to a halt, the walker and dog having to leap out of the way anyways.

"I saw them! I was gonna stop! Don't you DARE tell me how to drive or what to do! Don't you DARE yell at me either!" This received another slam into the glove department, the skin breaking open on her forehead. She felt a pounding headache starting to throb through her head.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Let me out of the car mom! Please let me out!" She was about to leap out of the car when her mom was speeding off again down the highway. Beginning to get desperate she yelled out "Mom if you don't stop right now I'm going to jump out! Stop the car! I want to walk!"

"Fine! See if I care!" The car came to a screeching halt before Kagome opened the door and her mother shoved her out of the car. She landed on her hands and knees, barely out of the way of the cars tires before her mom slammed the door close and sped off.

Crawling to the side of the road, she stayed on her hands and knees for a couple of minutes, panting. After she wiped the blood off of her face onto the inside of her black shirt, she stood up and began walking towards her home. Guessing it was a good half hour walk to get there, she thought her mother might be able to cool off.

So she trudged along, night closing in on her quickly. It was taking her longer to get there than she had thought, and a couple people had tried to pick her up by then. Of course, she refused all the offers and soon enough she found a little path through the woods that she could take.

"This is just a GREAT idea! Yup, dark, unfamiliar path leading into the deep dark woods with lots of beasts to eat me. I'm just brilliant! O yes, thank you dad, for coming to look for me! No, no, don't worry; there wasn't any possible way I was going to get raped while walking on the side of the road at night by myself! No! No! No! Not a possibility!" she ranted.

With a sigh she stopped for a moment, wiping the sweat off of her forehead before looking around. She had walked almost through the whole trail, and to her relief, she saw her own house up ahead. Though she hated her house, because it was by itself and nobody could hear her screams, she was thankful she had found it.

Sure, she didn't mind walking alone in the woods in the feudal era. There she knew Inuyasha would be there any moment to save her if she got into trouble. Though in those woods, she did run a higher risk of being jumped by a number of demons, she trusted those woods more than the ones in her own time.

Cursing after a moment, realizing that this was her neighbor's house and not her own, she quickly ran through their yard and took a familiar path that led to her own house. She knew this walk would be a good 15 minutes so she began singing softly to herself.

_I know what it feels like, it burns from the inside, I know what it hurts like 'cause I've been wrong a thousand times. My bones are all cracked, splinter deep in my back._

_I'm still the same, but we have changed and now I have to live with my mistakes. Will I ever learn? I'm battered and bruised, scratched on the inside. I'm losing myself I'm so sick of the lies. Dead ring in my ears, the hole underneath. You're deep in my skin you're the splinter in me._

_You'll never know how hard I try to keep my head right. I miss all the bright lights, shining down like the sun burns my skin. Ten silver sets me free, like the ones before me._

Her strides grew lazier as she decided to pick a softer song to sing next, so she wouldn't alert her mother that she was coming home.

_It's down to this; I've got to make this life make sense. Can anyone tell what I've done? I miss the life; I miss the colors of the world. Can anyone tell where I am?_

_'Cause now again I've found myself, so far down, away from the sun. That shines into the darkest place. I'm so far down, away from the sun again. Away from the sun again._

_I'm over this; I'm tired of living in the dark. Can anyone see me down here? The feeling's gone, there's nothing left to lift me up, back into the world I know._

_And now again I've found myself, so far down, away from the sun. That shines into the darkest place. I'm so far down, away from the sun. That shines to light the way for me. To find my way back into the arms, that care about the ones like me. I'm so far down, away from the sun again._

_It's down to this; I've got to make this life make sense. And now I can't tell what I've done._

_And now again I've found myself, so far down, away from the sun. That shines to light the way for me._

_'Cause now again I've found myself, so far down, away from the sun. That shines into the darkest place. I'm so far down, away from the sun. That shines to light the way for me. To find my way back into the arms, that care about the ones like me. I'm so far down, away from the sun again._

_Oh no...Yeah...I'm gone..._

Without realizing it, she had finally arrived at the last place she wanted to be. But where else would she go? Deciding that she'd try what Inuyasha often did, and avoid the wrath of her mother for a bit longer, Kagome hoisted herself up into the tree that led up to her room.

Propping herself up onto branch after branch, she was soon scrambling up the slanted roof to her room. She broke off a stick from the tree, and started to pry the window to her room open. When she finally crawled in through the window and into her room, she sighed and began to pack her yellow backpack quickly.

If anything happened, she was going to return to the feudal era and stay with them. Maybe she could convince dad to allow Souta to stay at one of his friends, even if her mom didn't beat on him. She still wasn't sure that she wouldn't, if Kagome wasn't around.

After a couple minutes she took her bag and threw it out the window, and watched it land at the base of the tree outside of her window. Good thing it was out of view, because if her mother caught wind of her even thinking of leaving, there would be hell to pay.

Kagome made her way through her door silently, and started tippy-toeing down the hall to Souta's room. She soon reached it and looked in, only to back out and hold back a scream.

She forced herself to go back into the room, lock the door, and go to her brother's side. His face had a small bruise on his cheek, and she felt a small lump on the back of his head. Fortunately he was still alive, and fairly unharmed, if not unconscious.

The phone was in her reach, but right as she picked it up she heard her mother storming up the stairs, and start pounding on Souta's door. Holding her little brother closer to her, she dialed one of Souta's best friend's houses.

"Hello?" answered a mother's voice from one side of the phone. Kagome let out a relieved breath. They were home.

"Hi, this is Kagome Higurashi, Souta Higurashi's older sister. We were wondering if Souta could stay at your house for a bit. My mother isn't well, and we have to take her to one of the hospitals in Europe for special treatment."

"O my, my! That's so far away from here! Will she be alright?"

"Yah, she'll be alright. Just very sick, that is." She paused and thought of how she would cover this up. Yes, her mother's rehab center was in Europe. Maybe she could go back there after this episode?

"Yes, we can take Souta in then. We'll be there in a bit, but can I speak to your father?"

"I'm sorry; my father isn't in right now. He's at work picking up their passports."

"Where will you be staying honey? We could take you in."

"Oh, don't worry about me; I have a friend's house I'm staying at."

"Well, alright then. We'll be there in 10 minutes!"

"Ok thanks!" Kagome hung up the phone and let out a sigh of relief. She then picked up the phone again to call her dad.

"Hey dad. Where are you? We really need you here right now! Mom's been drinking a lot, and she's out of control. One of Souta's friends is picking him up, and I'm going to the feudal era. But I don't know what to do with mom!"

She hear her dad talking to his business partners for a bit before he came back "Well, I'm sorry but I'm busy right now honey. Why don't you have one of moms AA instructors come pick her up and take her to that one clinic thing?"

Kagome growled a little on the other end of the line and then bit out harshly "Fine. Go back to work. Whatever. Bye." And slammed the phone back up onto its hanger.

After she quickly called one of her mother's AA instructors she took Souta's hand, packed a bag for him and quickly opened the door. Luckily for her, her mother fell for the trick and fell in through the door. Kagome slammed it on her mom, and then locked the door.

"What's happening sis? Why did mom hit me?" Souta's eyes were welling with tears as she kneeled down in front of him.

"Well, mom's had a bit too much to drink today. Dad's busy right now, but one of your friends should be here soon to pick you up. You'll be staying there until I, or Dad come and get you, ok? And if they ask you what happened to your cheek, it'd be best if you didn't tell them the truth. Tell them you bumped your head on the side of your bed, ok?"

Her heart was beating quicker and quicker with every word, as she listened to her mothers screams of protest. She smiled when she saw Souta nod, and handed him a bag. They both ran down the stairs when they heard a car horn.

Souta gave his sister a kiss on the cheek and then ran off to get into the van with his friend. He waved one last time to her before the car was gone and she turned around to head back into the house.

She began to scribble out a note to her father, hoping her mother wouldn't get out of the locked room. The note gave him all the information he would need, since he probably hadn't picked up on anything over the phone. She pinned the note to the fridge, and waited for her mother's AA instructor to arrive.

"Kagome, dear. Why did you lock me in that room?" Shivers ran up her spine as she turned around to see her drunken mother there, an evil smirk on her lips.

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**I like cliff hangers, but I also have the second chapter ready. I don't know if I'll post it yet, maybe later tonight. I probably will! **

**Hmm, I know Kagome doesn't have a father in the anime or manga, and I know her mother is all sweet and stuff, but I thought I might switch it up a bit. I hope you like this story! **

**Review this chapter please! 5 reviews plz**


	2. Duck and Run

**Wooo chapter 2! Chapter 2! Chapter 2! Well, just to let you all know, I probably won't update on this for maybe a week. Don't give up thought, cuz I will be back! Weo! Or I might drop it... I think it's better just to be sort of a one shot**

**Gosh, I was feeling sort of evil for a while there. Then it gets all weo. U know wat im talking about? Of course you do! Lol! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or any of the characters and I never will. Don't claim the title for the chapter "duck and run" which is actually a song title for 3 Doors Down.**

**On to the story!**

The Raw Heart

Duck and Run

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"_Kagome, dear. Why did you lock me in that room?" Shivers ran up her spine as she turned around to see her drunken mother there, an evil smirk on her lips._

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"Mom… Please be reasonable… Don't do this!" She was being backed into a corner and soon she felt her hair yanking her head back and her mothers lips pressed to her ear.

The stench of alcohol on her mothers breath was sickening as she slurred out "Shouldn't 'ave done that." A solid fist met Kagome's face as she flew back and sunk down the edge of the counter. The counter cut into her back and she cried out, continuing to slide down.

Her mother was on her in minutes and started to scratch at her eyes. Kagome covered her eyes, but not soon enough to prevent a few claw marks to be caused in her right cheek. She stood up shakily and started to try to run, but was jerked back by her hair.

The next moment she found herself flying through the air and through a glass window. She thought she would have time to get up and run, but her mother was already coming through the window, breaking a vase over Kagome's head.

She let out a screech and scrambled to her feet, stumbling over and over again as she headed for the well house. Her mother was following closely, throwing first rocks, and then butter knives. Two butter knives found their target, one tearing into Kagome's right shoulder, and the other fusing itself in the back of her thigh.

Her screams would probably be reaching the neighbors by now, and she heard the AA instructor's car pull up, along with a police car. But Kagome wasn't going to stop and grabbed her backpack before limping to the well house.

The police were too caught up in catching the raging drunk mother to follow the bleeding daughter. When they would follow her bloody footprints, there would be nobody in the well house. Because she was leaping down the well and into the feudal era.

Kagome finally reached the other side of the well and threw her bag up to the top of the well with her left arm, and then started to shakingly climb her way up. She rolled over the side of the well and then balled herself up, not even able to take the knives out of her skin.

Soon the rain came pouring down onto the broken up girl who was now wailing, lying in a pool of mud, blood, and rainwater. She swayed against the ground and held her head in her hands as she cried her heart out.

'Everything's so wrong. It's all so wrong! Nothing like this was supposed to happen to me! Mom was supposed to get better after rehab! Not worse!' she was shaking uncontrollably and the sobbing was wracking her already torn apart body.

A familiar voice was soon to be heard over the thunder, rain, and the sobbing. "Inuyasha…. Where are you! I need you, o god I need you here right now! Why did she do this to me? Why me?" the anguished voice turned out to be her own.

"Kagome… What are you doing out here, wench? Isn't it late for you to be coming back? You'll get a…" Inuyasha walked out from the woods to see Kagome's form by the well. At first he thought she was just lying down for some odd reason, but then he saw the blood. "Ka-Kagome! What happened to you?"

Running forward, he picked up Kagome's broken form to begin running towards Kaede's. He looked down at her when she started wailing out again "O god! Why did she do that! What did I do? What did I do? God, Inuyasha, what did I do wrong?" His own lower lip shivered as he felt like he needed to cry for her sake too.

"I don't know, Kagome… Just calm down, ok? We'll figure this out later." He was cradling her and as soon as he reached Kaede's the whole group was already awake and wondering what was wrong.

"Kaede, she's hurt. Take care of her." The whole group gave Inuyasha a suspicious look, as he set Kagome down in front of Kaede. "I don't know what happened to her, so don't ask me, ok?" He growled out as he watched Kaede pull out two small, dull looking knives and some bits of glass.

"Kagome! Kagome! What's wrong Kagome?" asked a worried Shippou, hovering over Kagome's form. She was still awake, but wouldn't answer anyone at the moment. All she could do was stare ahead, replaying the whole day over and over in her head.

Smothering another sob down, she covered her face so none of the group could see how puffy her eyes were. What was she going to tell them happened? What _could_ she tell them?

"Shhh, child. Ye can let it out. Just cry it all out, don't be ashamed." Kaede soothed as she continued to work on Kagome's wounds. She watched the girl nod, and begin to sob quietly again. Her whole body was twisting as the sobs grew louder and wracked her body more. "She needs dry clothes. I have none as of now."

Inuyasha nodded and took off his red harato and handed it to Kaede. He turned around, and then growled out "Monk, turn around or I'll make you." For one time, Miroku actually held back a perverted comment and turned his back to the girls while they helped Kagome to put on the dry harato.

Once they were done Inuyasha instantly picked Kagome up and took her over to a corner of the hut, cradling her in his arms. He whispered soft reassurances into her ears until she calmed down a bit. He watched her eyes slowly close, a deep frown hassling her lush lips, and a tear dripping down her bruised and scratched cheek.

"I hope she'll be alright." Sango said as she slowly settled back down into her blankets, a mew escaping from the small Kirara as well. Shippou wanted to sleep next to Kagome too, but Inuyasha wouldn't let anybody else near Kagome.

"She will be. But I wonder what happened, and who did this to her." Miroku said as he also settled down into his own sleeping place, far away from Sango.

"Just shut up and go to sleep. She'll tell us when she's good and ready, and if any of you try and force her to talk, it'll be your heads." Growled out Inuyasha before he made himself and Kagome comfortable and closed his eyes.

Everyone in the hut stared at the pair and soon fell asleep too, all of them wondering who could have done these things to Kagome. Usually when Kagome got hurt, she wouldn't cry or complain about it at all, but this time it seemed a little too personal for the girl to handle.

Whoever had hurt Kagome, was going to pay, and by Inuyasha's hands too. It was somebody very close to her, he could tell. Somebody that she wouldn't expect to hurt her like that.

Golden eyes looked around the room one last time, and pulled Kagome in closer to his body. At least one perk about this, was that he got to keep Kagome close to him, and nobody would comment on it. Yawning, he finally closed his eyes and fell asleep.

-Later on in the night, Kagome began to call out in a hushed voice "No! No please don't you have to understand! I didn't want to! I had to do it! Please don't do this to me…" Inuyasha was woken up and woke her up before she said anymore. He cupped her face and turned her eyes up towards his own.

Those golden orbs held questions she felt she couldn't answer quite yet so she just shook her head and he nodded. "I understand, but you can tell me whenever you want to. How about a short walk to cool you off?"

Nodding, both Inuyasha and her stood up and started to head out of the door of the hut. Inuyasha blushed and clumsily grabbed her hand, fumbling a bit before he got a good grip on it. Kagome looked down at their hands and then looked up Inuyasha, who was now looking anywhere but her.

Not that she cared about that. It was the fact that he had the guts to take her hand. Letting out a long sigh, she let the warmth of his strong hand distract her from replaying the scenes of before in her head.

Neither said anything the whole walk, but it wasn't needed. The silence was completely comfortable, and for a while that was all they needed. But after a while Kagome's mind still wouldn't stop buzzing so she decided to ask Inuyasha some questions "Umm… Inuyasha?"

Inuyasha finally looked at her, ignoring the fact that he was holding her small hand in his for a while "Yah Kagome? You doing ok? Need a ride on my back for a while or something?"

"I'm fine. It's just that I was wondering how you knew I was at the well." She was shaking a bit as she leaned up against Inuyasha. Even if his harato did reach a little less than half way towards her knees, and the air around them was warm, she was still slightly chilled.

"It's your aura. It's so familiar and unique that I knew that you were here, even if I couldn't smell you when it started to rain." He let go of her hand for a moment, and heard her whimper a bit. He smiled and put his arm around her waist to pull her into him so she could stay warm.

The silence seemed to settled back as they eventually turned around to head back to Kaede's. But Kagome stopped at the god tree and looked at Inuyasha "You think we could sleep here tonight? Away from the others?"

A slightly surprised look crossed Inuyasha's face before he smiled slightly, and nodded. Squeezing her closer to himself, he brought them both up to a stable branch where he sat down and leaned against the trunk.

He had been wondering how he was going to sit Kagome to keep her from falling when he felt her starting to shift around. She shifted until she was facing him, and had her legs dangling over either side of him. Blushing at their position, Inuyasha laughed a bit nervously, hoping he could control himself.

'I've waited so long for Kagome to be in this position, but today is NOT the right time for this. I've just got to keep calm until I fall asleep.' He thought to himself. He soon felt a small weight on his chest and he looked down to find Kagome's head leaned into the open part of his harato.

Smiling lightly, he listened to her breathing even out before her wrapped his arms around her and fell asleep himself. 'I like this. Maybe we can do this more often?' he buried his head in her hair 'She smells so good… And feels so good…' he soon found himself falling asleep again.

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**And that's the end of this chapter! Remember to review me lots while I'm absent, ok?**

**Yay! Thank you for reading this new fic! **


	3. Inuyasha's Feelings

**Woosh, sorry it took me so long to update. With high skool and work and community service (no I didn't do anything bad lol, I just do community service cuz im just a good person like that!) and karate. Woop. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or any of the characters and I never will. De dum –le sigh-**

**Yes, I do know some of the grammar is incorrect when Inuyasha speaks. I just don't think Inuyasha is the type for grammar, you know? o and yes... i do know how cheezy the title to this chapter is... lol**

**Enjoy!**

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The Raw Heart 

_Inuyasha's Feelings_

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_Smiling lightly, he listened to her breathing even out before her wrapped his arms around her and fell asleep himself. 'I like this. Maybe we can do this more often?' he buried his head in her hair 'She smells so good… And feels so good…' he soon found himself falling asleep again._

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The next morning dawned cold and dreary, a slow drizzle dripping down the sleeping couples faces. Neither noticed the cold from the drizzle, for the warmth they shared between their two bodies was enough to keep them more than content.

Tears joined the drizzle moving down Kagome's sleeping face. Her hands tightened themselves in the harato of the one she loved as the nightmare continued to grow worse. It didn't take long for the tangy scent of salt to reach Inuyasha's nose and he woke up to see Kagome crying in her sleep.

Silver eyebrows furrowed as he watched the girl he loved cry. Even if it wasn't his own heart and tears pouring down he still could feel his heart crack. Seeing Kagome cry like this, hurt like she was hurting, was getting to him. He couldn't take away this pain she had. He hadn't been there to protect her from whatever had gotten to her.

Tears continued to drip down her face with the slight drizzle, a few drops of her blood adding to it as her wounds reopened on her face from the rain softening them up. Yet she still slept as if she was caught in the nightmare. He took his moment and licked away the tears before he woke her up.

Gently prodding her and lifting her face up to his so he could look her in the eyes he attempted to wake her up. He could tell she had just woken up, because her eyes squeezed tightly shut as if refusing to look on a new day. "Kagome… Wake up, come on. The others are bound to be worried." Not to mention how worried he was growing about her.

Chocolate brown eyes opened up slowly to look up into his golden ones, hers big and round, watering a bit as if she was going to cry again. She shook her head a whimpered a bit, a silent plea for him not to take her back yet.

Golden eyes softened a bit from the look she was giving him. She was pleading for him not to take her back yet. What was he supposed to do? How could he refuse her when she had such a sorrowful look on her face? He couldn't refuse her. It was as plain as that.

"You want to go back to your time for a bit? I'm sure you're mother will be worried too." He asked. He almost missed the look of fright and dreading that flickered into his Kagome's eyes. The fear and dread soon dissipated into a look that gave no emotions away.

Her eyes stayed as emotionless as before but she put on a fake smile that only Inuyasha would be able to tell was fake "No, not yet. I'm sure she'll just believe I've gone to the feudal era for a while. Anyways, I sort of want to spend some time with you guys."

Troubled golden gaze was misused on her he found. She wasn't going to admit anything to him, so he decided to just let her be "Alright then. Let's go on a little journey then, ok? Just me and you. I'll tell the others and then come back for you, alright?"

Dark lochs of hair bobbed as she nodded slowly. She once again looked up at him pleadingly "Inuyasha… Please don't leave me here alone for to long…" a small whimper escaped her mouth as she began to think of being alone. She didn't want to ever be without him. She didn't want to be alone too long, to allow her mind to wander back to that dreadful day.

Slightly perturbed, Inuyasha nodded and took her head in his hands and said quietly "I'll never leave you alone for long. I'll always come back to you. I promise. Alright?" he waited until he saw her nod again "Good then. I'll be right back."

With that he rushed off and disappeared into the trees and such, headed towards Kaede's. When he reached her hut and walked in and sighed, wiping some of the rain off of his face before he looked towards the group "Hey. Kagome doesn't feel like talking or seeing anybody right now. I think whoever did this to her, gave her a good scare and she's still in shock. We'll be back in a week or so."

Without waiting for the answers from the group he grabbed Kagome's backpack and headed back to the tree. Miroku, Kaede, Sango and Shippou watched Inuyasha leave, all of them having confused looks on their faces before Shippou started to bawl.

Inuyasha rushed through the trees and was a bit panicked until Kagome's scent of vanilla and jasmine hit his nose. She was still in the same place he had left her. When he finally leaped into the tree and had Kagome in his sight he couldn't help but take her in his arms and bury his nose in her hair.

"You doin' ok? Did I take too long?" He asked into her hair, the sound of his voice a bit muffled.

A small gasp escaped her lips as she tried to understand why Inuyasha was being so kind and caring. Was he alright? "No, and I'm alright." She paused, debating if she should ask the question or not. She finally decided and got up the courage to quietly stutter out "Wh—why are you being so nice Inuyasha?"

Shifting a little so he could take his nose out of her hair and look her in the face, he was a little taken aback. What did she mean by that? Wasn't he always nice to her? He looked down, a little ashamed. He supposed that he wasn't always his nicest to her. No wonder she was a little leery of his sudden change in attitude.

"What doya mean? Can't a guy be nice once in a while without having to explain himself?" He cringed a little and felt like hitting himself for what he had said. Why did he always have to be so vulgar towards her? He was all but amazed that he hadn't also added a 'wench' to it.

Her head drooped as she let out a small sigh. 'I guess it was too good to be true' thought Kagome. She looked up at him and smiled slightly "Sorry… Let's get going, ok?"

He nodded and took her onto his back and couldn't help but feel really guilty. She had just gone through something really traumatic and here he was being snide with her. His sigh mimicked hers 'Why can't I be nice to her for once? Is it because I can't get the guts to tell her how I really feel? It's almost as if I love her so much that every day that passes that I don't tell her my feelings a little bit of me is being eaten away…' a sort of depressed Inuyasha thought.

He growled a bit and cleared his head, grabbing her backpack as well and then leaped off of the branch and headed somewhere where they could be alone and Kagome could try to heal a bit. Both physically and mentally.

They soon reached a small hut in the middle of a very dense forest. There was a small river running past the hut and the grass around the hut was so green it looked almost like moss. Kagome would have usually gasped and stared in wonder, but it seemed that her emotions were on lock down, and she continued to be emotionless about everything.

"Err… If you were wondering, this is where I sometimes stayed when I was traveling around a lot. It was abandoned when I used to stay in it, and it looks the same way now." Inuyasha suddenly blurted out, trying to break the awkward silence.

She squirmed her way out his arms and looked around. She wished she could feel something other than the emptiness that she was feeling right now. Being this empty was starting to get to her and she was feeling pretty miserable.

"Kagome…." Inuyasha called out to her, not sure if it was the right time. He couldn't hold it anymore. He'd never been one to keep things inside. He was one of those people that just had to blurt out what they were feeling.

"Yah Inu…" She was cut off when he grabbed her wrists. At first she flinched away and turned her head away, a reaction that she had picked up from all the beatings she had gotten. She slowly looked back towards him and saw that his golden eyes were softer than usual and he was looking at her oddly.

He couldn't bear to tell her what he was going to say with her staring up at him like that. He looked to the side and slowly said "I don't know if this is the right time to tell ya… But I can't hold in what I wanna say any longer, wench. It doesn't even matter if you don't feel the same, I'm always gonna be there for ya."

Kagome was starting to grow a little worried at what he was getting at. Was he about to tell her that he hated her, but was now obligated to protect her for the rest of her life because he felt sorry for her? She hoped not. She didn't know if she could bear any more heartbreak and if it was Inuyasha doing the breaking, she thought she would die. She started to cry a bit "Inuyasha… Please don't say it… Please…" the tears thickened as she refused to look at him.

He gulped, but he had to go on, even if it was almost obvious what her answer would be towards him. She wanted to keep it the same, but he had to at least get his feelings out "Kagome, you have to listen to me. I don't care if you don't want to hear this, I have to get it off my chest or else my heart'll burst or something. Kagome, I love you so much I could shoot the moon and put out the sun."

He took a deep breath a plunged even further in, taking Kagome's head in his hands "Nothing can ever change my mind about that Kagome. I know what you're gonna say… What about Kikyo… To hell with Kikyo. She never made me feel the way you do. She never made me believe that I'd risk everything for her like I'd risk anything for you. I love you, plain and simple. And nothings about to change my mind."

He finished what he had to say and didn't look to her face but just looked down and away, afraid of what he almost knew for sure was written across her face. He could picture the look of disgust she had towards him.

Small hands lifted his head up to look at her and he found quite the opposite. She was crying and smiling happily, a true smile. She was shaking as she choked out "I… thought you were going to tell me you hated me… But… You just told me… You loved me… Like I love you…"

He smiled and took her up in his arms and spun her around. When she landed he wrapped his arms around her and gave her a deep meaningful kiss and when he pulled away he silently said "No, I could never hate you."

"Do you want me?" Kagome could feel all her feelings flooding back into her at once. Those three words could work magic on her, coming from Inuyasha's mouth truthfully.

"I want you so bad." He smirked a little and kissed her again, nipping gently on her lower lip "I want to make you mine forever. I want you as my mate. My Kagome. So nobody can ever take you away from me."

Brown eyes looked up at him trustingly "Then take me."

* * *

**And there is the end of this chapter! Wahooo! I hope you like it! Well, I'm thinking of putting up a lemon or lime or whatever up for next chapter. What do you guys say? Yes… or no? yesss… or noooo? Review me and tell me!**

**Hmm… possibly… could I have… 3 reviews? Sounds good to me…. **

**THE END! LA FINA! **

**Sweet-Kioki: Hey! Thanks for being the first one to review! Sorry for taking so long to update!**

**Inuhpgirl: Thanks for the review! I'm glad you liked the last two chappies!**

**The boy in My head: Thanks for reviewing! Yah, I know her mom is scary. She's an alcoholic and she's one of the alcoholics that go into uncontrollable rages when under the influence. I know it would be really uncharacteristic for Mrs. Higurashi usually, but for this story it suits my need.**


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